GVI: Animal Care Volunteering

Why did you choose this program?

I usually go overseas on a surfing trip, but wanted to do something different. Also, the plight of wildlife in Africa is important to me. Working at GVI Limpopo allowed me, in a very small way, to help African wildlife.

What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

I made all of my own arrangements, but GVI has a very good instruction packet regarding what to bring, what medical steps are recommended and how to get to Limpopo. ZA.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

When booking flights, if from the U.S. to South Africa, avoid extended lay overs. I had a 12 hour lay over in Frankfurt and, as a result, could not check my bags through to South Africa or reserve a seat on the connecting flight until I arrived in Frankfurt. This required rechecking my bag, getting a seat/ticket, and going through security again.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

Unless you were scheduled to do base camp support (cleaning and cooking which all volunteers and staff did), you were up for a six o'clock wildlife survey which would last three to four hours. You may have one of three tasks on the survey: vehicle prep, telemetry, or data recording.

Midday was free, or you could take a class on wildlife. You then would go on an afternoon/evening survey from three to seven or eight in the evening.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it and/or how did your views on the issue change?

My biggest fear was missing a flight so I built in plenty (too much) time between flights. My view on African wildlife didn't change, but my respect for the Limpopo staff, whom I had not met before, was immense.

What do you do for fun at Limpopo?

During the day there is a volleyball court. There is a pool table, wifi, and a library. There is a happy hour for those over 18 as well. Beer and wine can be bought in town. Staff and volunteers get to go to town once a week.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

Working for GVI has helped me to completely embrace new cultures and ideas whilst working towards a collective goal.

Prior to working with GVI I hadn't traveled a great deal but since working for GVI, I've met people from all over the world and being able to hear their stories and opinions have given me a better understanding of different cultures and also fresh perspectives on how to achieve our goals.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

GVI offers fantastic programm throughout the world and all are so unique and inspiring that it's hard to choose just one! I am a nature lover but would love to visit our program in Laos where the focus is teaching English to Buddhist Novice Monks as well as running a women's empowerment program.

There are a huge number of young men who choose to become monks in order to gain access to education and escape poverty and GVI helps provide English classes for temples which are sometimes too crowded to provide valuable and worthwhile lessons for these monks.

The women's empowerment project also gives disadvantaged girls and women the opportunity to learn English in a safe environment, helping them to further their employment opportunities they wouldn't have been given access to elsewhere.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

For me, what makes GVI unique is that everybody is part of one huge, diverse family spread across the globe. The family aspect is so evident from project to project as well as the communities that each project works with.

All of our projects work closely with local communities and the strong relationships that we have with our local partners are imperative to the goals that GVI hopes to achieve around the world.

Our team in Chiang Mai are all so passionate about our project and seeing them share their passion for the wildlife and the community with new volunteers and then seeing the passion ignited in the volunteers always makes me so proud.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

I believe that passion and respect are two huge factors in being successful. Of course there are many other factors that make companies successful, but for me these two stand out.

It's so important to be passionate about everything that we do as well as respecting each other and our environment at the same time. When we are passionate about what we do, it really encourages others to follow suit and help to work towards the same goal.

It's also important to be respectful of the different countries that we operate in, as well as the different cultures that we meet along the way. Being respectful of each other is imperative to working together to achieve our goals.